Description
The left lane on the beltway is to PASS. People drive in this lane as if it was set aside just for them. When they see a car in ther rear view mirror they continue to drive lower than the speed limit AND they don't move over to the right lane even if there is room. I was behind one of these drivers yesterday, I had a PG County cruiser behind me. I moved to the right and the slow car that I was behind never moved. The cruiser just went around them. Can't you receive a warning or ticket for this? Should the cruiser have at least turned his lights on to have the car move over?
1 Comment
Closed Robert Bandy (Registered User)
There is a violation of the Maryland Vehicle Law for driving too slowly, TA 21-804(a) "Unless reduced speed is necessary for the safe operation of the vehicle or otherwise is in compliance with law, a person may not willfully drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic."
A driver can be cited for this, however the officer or trooper has to deem that the driver is causing a significant burden on traffic. The County officer must not have decided that the car's speed was slow enough to impede traffic.
I was not able to find anything in Maryland law that speficies the left lane as a passing lane, although I recognize this is common practice.
Lastly, when an officer activates his lights he must also activate his siren and this action signals one of two things, (1) the officer is responding to an emergency call, or (2) the officer is initiating a traffic stop and the vehicle must stop. As convenient as it may be for the officer sometimes, a police officer cannot turn on his emergency lights solely to get a slow moving car out of the way.
I hope this information helps!